Luso American

Luso-Americans, or Lusitanic Americans are people living in the United States whose cultural background derives in part from countries with Portuguese speaking roots or traditions.

Luso-Americans include Portuguese Americans, whose roots are directly Portuguese; Brazilian-Americans; and those from other parts of the Lusophone world, such as Cape Verde, Angola or Mozambique. Because of the wide range of national origins of Luso-Americans, the group is considered a cultural one, rather than a homogeneous ethnic group. People of African, Macanese, Portuguese Jewish, and many other origins may be, under certain circumstances, considered Luso-Americans.

A Portuguese American, in contrast, denotes any person born in the United States whose family came to the USA from Portugal.

History

Luso-Americans can be found in all states and there are sizable Luso-American communities in California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, New York, Hawaii, Florida, Delaware and Virginia. In total, the members of this community may be more than 3.5 million Americans. Two United States counties, namely Bristol County, Rhode Island and Bristol County, Massachusetts, are home to pluralities of people of Portuguese ancestry. There was dense Portuguese settlement in the Salinas and San Joaquin Valleys in California, namely the cities of Los Banos and Hollister. Fact|date=May 2008

Jewish Luso-Americans

In September, 1654, shortly before the Jewish New Year, twenty-three Jews of Portuguese ancestry from Recife, Brazil, arrived in New York, which at the time was under Dutch rule and known as New Amsterdam. This arrival was the beginning of Jewish-American history. Sephardic Portuguese Jews were also the early settlers of Newport (where the country's first synagogue was founded), Charleston, Philadelphia and Baltimore.

Language

Portuguese has been spoken in the United States by small communities of immigrants, especially in (top 20 Luso-American communities in order of size)
* Hartford, Connecticut
* Fall River, Massachusetts
* Miami and nearby Pompano Beach
* Orlando
* Dartmouth, Massachusetts
* Ludlow, Massachusetts
* New Bedford, Massachusetts
* Framingham, Massachusetts
* Elizabeth, New Jersey
* Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
* Bristol, Rhode Island
* East Providence, Rhode Island
* Los Banos, California
* San Francisco, California
* San Jose, California
* Cranston, Rhode Island
* Gustine, California
* Mineola, New York
* Tulare, California
* Hollister, California
* San Pedro, California
* Redondo Beach, California
* Phoenix, Arizona
* Mesa, Arizona
* Reno, Nevada
* Las Vegas, Nevada
* Sonora, California
* Hayward, California
* San jose, California

Luso-Americans are highly numerous in the metropolitan New York City area. The Ironbound section of Newark, New Jersey is also called "Little Portugal", and 46th Street in Manhattan is also named "Little Brazil Street". Portuguese is also spoken by some Chinese and Macanese immigrants from Macau, especially in California.

Luso-Americans also include speakers of Portuguese-based creoles, such as Macanese ("Patuá" or "Macaista Chapado") and Papiamento. Elements of the Portuguese language can also be found in other former colonies such as Goa and Timor.

In the Luso-American community, there is a significant difference between European Portuguese and other regional variations, notably Brazilian Portuguese. Language schools (especially in the U.S.) classes often teach the Brazilian dialect.Fact|date=February 2007

Famous Luso-Americans

Portuguese

* Joe Madureira - comic book artist
* Dina Matos McGreevey - former First Lady of New Jersey, businesswoman
* Teresa Heinz Kerry - wife of U.S. Senator and former presidential candidate John Kerry
* John Dos Passos - novelist
* Emeril Lagasse - celebrity chef, restaurateur, television personality, and cookbook author
* Carmen Miranda - Portuguese/American/Brazilian actress and singer (born in Marco de Canaveses, Porto district
* John Philip Sousa - American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era
* Meredith Vieira - journalist, television talk show host and game show host (The Today Show, The View, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire)
* Steve Perry -former lead vocalist of the rock group Journey
* Jorge Ferreira -singer and composer from the Azores
* Nelly Furtado - famous singer
* James Franco - actor

Brazilian

* Paula Abdul - Syrian-Brazilian father
* Janeth Arcain - professional basketball player (WNBA) with the Houston Comets
* Morena Baccarin - actress (Brazilian born)
*Camilla Belle (1986 - ) television/film actress ("When a Stranger Calls") [ [http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/CoolNewStuff/Details.aspx?StoryID=35465] "She's part Brazilian – her mother is from Sao Paulo" [http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2006/03/02/arts/14697.shtml] "Belle already speaks fluent Portuguese — her mother is Brazilian"]
* Blondfire - band
*Jordana Brewster (1980 - ) film actress [ [http://www.celebritywonder.com/html/jordanabrewster.html] "Nationality:, American/Brazilian" [http://www.lesbianation.com/scene/star.cfm?trotterid=271&showinfo=yes] "The 5’7’’ American Brazilian actress..."]
* Sonia Braga - Actress
* Bob Burnquist - Brazilian born skateboarder
* Bruno Campos - actor
* Flavia Colgan, political strategist
* Jane Engelhard philanthropist
* Bebel Gilberto - Songwriter/singer
* Ryan Hollweg - hockey player
* Sergio Mendes - singer
* Nancy Randall - model
* Robert Rey Plastic surgeon and TV host
* Bidu Sayão - opera singer
* Gisele Bundchen - model
* Carmen Miranda - actress
* Emerson Fittipaldi - car racer
* Anderson Varejao - basketball player

Angolan

*Hugo Ferreira-Rock Singer

Cape-Verdean

*Michael Beach
*Horace Silver
* Paul Gonsalves - musician
*Paul Pena - musician
*Peter J. Gomes - Minister, Memorial Church of the Harvard University.
*Tony Gonzales - tight end, Kansas City Chiefs
*Tavares (band), a Disco band from the 70's.

Indian

*Dinesh D'Souza
*Sid D'Souza
*Leon D'Souza

Chinese

*Ming-Na
*Cerina da Graça
*John Lone

ephardic

* Jacob Lumbrozo - colonist
* Judah P. Benjamin - politician and lawyer
* Albert Cardozo - jurist
* Benjamin Cardozo - a Sephardi Supreme Court Justice.
* Emma Lazarus - a Sephardi New Yorker poet
* Mordecai Manuel Noah - playwright, diplomat, journalist, and utopian
* Judah Monis - Hebrew scholar
* Vic Seixas - tennis player and champion

Caribbean

* Steven E. de Souza - producer, director and scriptwriter
* Sean Paul - Jamaican rapper (Portuguese on father's side)

References

External links

* [http://www.fatima-port-church.com/ Igreja Portuguesa de Nossa Senhora de Fátima] — Church of Our Lady of Fatima, Yonkers, New York
* [http://www.ypacc.com/ Portuguese American Community Center] , Yonkers, New York
* [http://www.portuguesefoundation.org/ Portuguese-American Historical & Research Foundation] Franklin, North Carolina
* [http://www.shearith-israel.org/ Congregation Shearith Israel — the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue (New York, NY, USA)]
* [http://www.mikvehisrael.org/ Kahal Kadosh Mikveh Israel (Philadelphia, PA, USA)]
* [http://www.tourosynagogue.org Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island]
* [http://www.dightonrock.com/]
* [http://www.portuguesefoundation.org/famous.htm Distinguished Americans & Canadians of Portuguese Descent]
* [http://www.portstudies.umassd.edu/ Center for Portuguese Studies and Culture]

ee also

*Brazilian American
*Lusitanic
*Portuguese American